


Wherever You Are

by sailingmoonlight



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Langst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, just angst in general, klangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-08 04:50:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16422713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailingmoonlight/pseuds/sailingmoonlight
Summary: The Galran War is over, and the Paladins are all finally back on Earth being honored for their bravery. Allura and Romelle leave Earth to form the new Altea and the rest of the group go their separate ways.Keith and Krolia have decided on going back to Texas’ shack and rebuilding their home, but their plans are cut short when Krolia finds out she has to leave to go back into space to round up the last of the Galran pirates. Keith is left alone with no where to go, when an aimless and loveless Lance impulsively says to him five simple words that changed the course of Keith’s life on Earth;“Come to Cuba with me.”





	1. New Place to Begin

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer here: this first chapter may or may not be kind of boring because it’s an introductory chapter, so it isn’t jam packed with Klance quite yet, but don’t worry, I’ll deliver in later chapters. 
> 
> And I would also just like to say thank you to whoever is deciding to read this, I really appreciate it with all of my heart and I hope you enjoy the story. <3

It was finally over. The Galran war against Earth and every other planet in the universe had finally come to an end, and the universe was at peace once more. While it may have been a victory on Earth’s part, that wasn’t to say that there weren’t any causalities; in fact, most of Earth’s major cities were in ruins and it would take a worldwide effort to get the planet back together. It was almost strange, in a way, the human race had lost so much, yet it was the one time they were truly hand in hand with each other, and they felt, gave, and received more love and support than ever before. When one looses everything, all that’s left is their own heart as the foundation to build the new upon. 

While Earth was in pretty bad shape, the Alteans did not hesitate to lend a helping hand with the humans’ efforts. With Altean technology and magic, the planet was back to normal in less than a few months, and the planet finally was able to honor the Paladins of Voltron, the Garrison, and the Alteans for their bravery and efforts in the war and for helping rebuild their planet. A massive celebration was held for them at the Garrison and the ceremony was broadcast all around the world for people to view.

Garrison cadets were packed shoulder to shoulder as they awaited for the Paladins to step forward onto the large stage. Meanwhile, the Paladins were backstage chatting before they had to be presented to the world on stage. Pidge, Hunk, and Romelle seemed to be talking about something interesting, as they all looked deeply engaged in the conversation at hand and were making a lot of hand gestures and movements as they all spoke. Adam and Shiro were still exchanging words of catching up with each other’s lives; they did have four years to fill each other in on, after all. Lance was seen sitting, bouncing his leg up and down rather quickly, with Allura sitting beside him. They also seemed to be invested in their conversation, but it didn’t have the same energy as the previous trio’s, it seemed more solemn. And then there was Keith, not in the conversation with but leaned up against the back of the stage near Shiro and Adam, staring off at what seemed to be nothing.

He tried to just space out, but he couldn’t seem to not hyper-focus on Lance and Allura. He hated how he still paid a little too much attention to Lance like this, he thought he had grown out of that. He especially hated it after what he saw go down between the two; both blushing like mad men and an inch away from revealing both of their feelings if it wasn’t obvious enough to them already. After that, Keith locked up every feeling he had about Lance until he felt nothing about him. He wouldn’t admit that this was making things worse, and that he was only lying to himself. 

Keith was broken from his thoughts by a few calls of his name. “Keith? Keith, you’re staring off, are you alright?” Adam was the first one to pick up on Keith zoning out. Even after all these years Adam still knows when something’s up with Keith, after all, he did help raise him alongside Shiro.

Keith shrugged. “It’s nothing, really. Just thinking is all,” He claimed. Adam tried to ask him what he was thinking about in particular, but Shiro just shook his head. It was best for them to let Keith think than to possibly make him more anxious, if he wasn’t already, by grilling him to tell them.

Shiro and Adam continued their conversation while Keith’s wandering eyes fell back onto Lance. He looked away quickly, but from the corner of his eye he saw someone standing up and soon walking away. He turned back to see that Allura had gotten up and Lance was now sitting alone. Don’t you dare even think about going over there, his thoughts chimed. But before he even realized, Keith was already on his way to sit beside the isolated boy, this being another occurance where Keith wished he would actually think before he does things.

He made his way over to Lance and plopped himself down next to him. They looked nor said anything to each other, both just looked straight ahead at who-knows-what. Keith shifted slightly and pinched himself. Say something to him you idiot, you’re making it weird. 

Keith let out a long sigh. “So, how ‘ya doin’, Lance?” Lance said nothing in response, and kept staring off into the same nothing as he was before Keith began talking. He had his legs pulled up against his stomach was curled into a ball, almost as if he wanted himself to look small and unnoticeable. For some reason it made it hard to breathe for Keith, as if someone had just placed an iron weight on his chest. 

Keith internally knew the best thing to do was to leave Lance alone, but for some reason, he just began rambling. “So, uh, what are you gonna do after all this is over? I’m guessing you’ll go back to Cuba with your family, if I’m right. My mom and I are gonna go back to my dad’s shack and rebuild his house; we had actually talked about doing that since we were stuck in the Quantum Abyss and-“

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” 

Keith gulped. How can he just ask something like that? Just so randomly and in such a blunt way? Keith’s mind was racing as much as his heart. “I, uh,” Keith stuttered out. He maintained his composure and managed to say, “Well, I think it depends on the person.” This was when Lance finally turned and gazed into Keith’s deep violet eyes, taking in all of him as he sat there. 

Lance smirked slightly. “Depends on the person, huh?” Lance repeated. “That truly is a Keith Kogane answer.” He turned his head back to look off into the distance again as he continued, “Isn’t it funny how everyone craves to fall in love, but they’re not ready to realize the tragic truth that just because you fall in love, doesn’t mean that person will love you back? Falling in love can give you wings and make you fly, but that same love can rip those wings viscously off your back, sending you plummeting down into nothing...” Lance trailed off.

Keith is no stranger to Lance’s episodes of him becoming more insecure or anxious than usual, but this was something entirely different. He had never seen this side of Lance, and for a mere second, he thought he was talking to an entirely different person. 

He abruptly stood up and looked down at Keith. “Hey, sorry about that,” he chuckled slightly and grinned. He offered his hand to Keith to help him up which Keith readily accepted. As Lance helped him up, Keith held onto his hand as long as he could. He let his warmth flood throughout his entire being, pumping extra blood into his heart, making it beat faster. His hand felt so full, so complete, like a puzzle that had been missing a piece for many years. And just as Keith thought, once Lance took his hand away, that warmth was gone; the puzzle was incomplete once more. 

They both remained silence, not looking at each other, until Lance broke it, casually saying, “Well, the ceremony is about to start, we better get ready. I need to go talk to Shiro before it starts so, I guess I’ll see you on stage!” Lance turned on his heel and left Keith standing where both of them were previously sitting. 

Keith watched as Lance left, quietly saying under his breath, almost in a whisper, “Yeah, I understand those exact feelings, Lance.”

 

 

The ceremony ended with the Paladins, Shiro, and Coran receiving medals of honor for protecting Earth and it’s people. A large, stone statue of Allura was also placed on the Garrison grounds in her honor, to which Allura had felt very overwhelmed by. Everyone said a few words of gratitude into the microphone and thanked everyone, thus closing the ceremony and beginning the after-celebration. As the Paladins stepped off stage, their families flung themselves at them, showering them with hugs, kisses, and praises. And of course, Krolia nearly crushes Keith with her strong bear hug in which she squeezes him so hard, she lifts him off the ground.

Krolia has a big smile on her face for once as she exclaims, “I cannot tell you how proud I am of you. I mean- look at you! My own son! Leader of Voltron and saving the entire universe!” Keith learned that his mother wasn’t one to openly show many of her emotions, just like himself, but when she was overcome with a strong enough emotion, she would spill over, kind of like she’s doing now.

“Okay, okay, Mom, you know I love you, but I can barely breathe-“ Keith wheezed and Krolia immediately released him, Keith falling to the ground and coughing a couple of time before laughing. “Thank you, Mom. It really does feel good knowing that someone really is proud of me, and it feels good to have you hear with me.” Keith smiles at her, Krolia nervously smiling back as if she was hiding something.

“Actually Keith, there’s something I need to talk to you-“

“Hey!” Hunk cuts Krolia off and storms over to them and gives Keith another massive hug, Keith losing his breath for the second time. Pidge is not far behind and makes her way over to the two of them.

Patting Hunk’s back, she says, “Stop it, Hunk, you’re gonna kill him!” Hunk does the same as Krolia and releases him, Keith falling once again. 

“Sorry! I guess I got a little excited there.” Hunk rubs the back of his head shyly. He stops rubbing his head and continues, “Oh, right! Pidge and I wanted to get you to come sit with all of us! They have a big table just for us, and you too Krolia!”

The four make their way over to the long table in which; from left to right; Adam, Shiro, Allura, Romelle, Coran, and Lance were already sitting. There are four open seats at the end of the table, Hunk taking the end seat, Pidge sitting next to him, Krolia next to Pidge, and Keith next to Krolia. Keith finds himself wishing he was seated next to Lance, but rids the thought immediately and scolds himself for it. They all chat among themselves until champagne was brought to all of them, each glass their respective color match. Shiro thanked the server and used his fork to tap on his glass, standing up and drawing attention to himself. 

Once the party was quieted down, Shiro began his speech. “I would like to make a toast,” He began, “a toast to these brave men and women that you see before me. I have been through more than I could have ever imagined in my life time, and it seems like I haven’t been alive long enough to say that. We have all been fighting for the greater good and to defend the universe from evil, and I am so proud to call myself a former Paladin of Voltron and an ally of these amazing people sitting here. I promised myself that I would do whatever it took to get these kids home, I didn’t even care if it cost me my life... Which it did, by the way, thank you, Allura.”

The audience laughed at Shiro’s joke regarding how he came back from the dead because of Allura. Once the laughter settled, Shiro continued. “But I would just like to say, that I truly am honored for the opportunity to serve alongside these men and women. It’s been great flying with you all. Cheers!” Applause erupted from the crowd and many people shouting ‘cheers’ as well. The Paladins clinked their glasses and sipped their champagne. 

“I am now drunk.” Pidge said sarcastically. “Two sips of this bad boy got me buzzed, y’know?” 

Lance shouts back from the end of the table, “Coward! Bet you can’t even down the whole thing- watch this!” He then proceeds to down the entire glass of champagne, coughing because he got some caught in his throat, but manages to choke out, “See, what’d I tell ‘ya?”

“Lance, how did you do that? This drink is rather disgusting, in my opinion,” Allura states rather bluntly.

“Don’t worry Princess,” Shiro starts, “No one really likes it, I’d rather have straight vodka right now.”

Adam rolls his eyes. “Wow, you really haven’t changed.” He smiles and gives him and kiss on the cheek, as the entire table says ‘Aww’ collectively. 

“I wish someone would be that lovey-dovey with me!” Romelle exclaims.

Keith raises his glass, “Bitch, me too, the fuck?” Krolia elbows him in the side letting him know to watch his language, Romelle raising her glass with him.

Romelle sighs and glances to a certain Princess. “If only there were someone who would kiss me right now.” She winks at Allura, causing her to laugh and choke on her drink. Romelle gets up from her seat and starts apologizing quickly and everyone laughs along with Allura.

 

 

The party has slowly come to an end, and it’s time for the Alteans, Romelle, and Allura to leave to form the new Altea. The other Alteans all gathered onto the large ship the Garrison provided them, with quite a few Altean tweaks of course, as Allura and Romelle said their final farewells with their friends. It was safe to say that all of them hated to see them go, and they would be greatly missed.

“I’m just gonna miss you guys so much! It’s gonna be so weird not hearing those amazing accents all the time,” Hunk said solemnly.

Allura smiled brightly at Hunk. “Yes, it will be quite strange not having all of you around all the time. And I loved all of our chats we had Hunk, you really were like a best friend to me.” 

“Aww Princess!” Hunk gushed and his face turned red from embarrassment.

“Yeah, we all had some great times,” Pidge said. “It was nice to have another girl on the ship, and it was nice for someone to understand me and-“ Pidge cut herself off and she bit her lip, trying to fight back tears. She tried wiping them away quickly as she finished, “I’m just gonna miss you so much!” She crashed into Allura for a hug and squeezed her tight.

“Now, don’t do that Pidge,” Allura began. “If you start crying... Then I’ll start... Crying-“ Allura began to start her crying too, which made Hunk, Lance, Shiro, Coran, and Romelle start to cry too. Keith wouldn’t admit it, but he began to shed some tears as well. They all formed a big group hug and squeezed each other tightly. Even though they all knew they would see each other again, they knew it would be a long time before they got a hug from one another like that again. 

Coran wiped the tears away from his eyes and put his hands on Allura’s shoulders. “Princess, you have grown so much. There is no one better suited to rule the new Altea more than you. If only King Alfor could see you now, he would be so proud.” Allura smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you, Coran. You’ll always be my dearest advisor.” Allura looked to Shiro. “And Shiro! I’ll always look up to you, forever, I could never be as strong as you are.” 

Shiro shook his head. “Princess, you don’t need to look up to anyone to make you stronger, you already are the strongest woman in the galaxy, but, I am honored that you think that.” 

Allura smiled, next turning to Keith. “Keith, we may have had our differences, but i was glad that you were apart of our team and you will always be in my heart.” Keith’s eyes brimmed over with a couple of tears and nodded and managed to say that he agreed. 

Allura finally turned to Lance. “And... Lance.” Keith watched as she slowly approached him and gave him the biggest hug of all. It was full of so much power and emotion and for some reason it felt like someone took a sledgehammer and hit Keith as hard as they could straight in the chest when he saw it unfold. Allura whispered something in his ears that made even more tears flow down his face, and he tried all his might to not break into a sobbing mess. Allura pulled back and stared into Lance’s eyes for a short while, then leaned in and placed a long kissed Lance’s right cheek. Keith felt his stomach clench. He didn’t know why he was even getting upset, this was expected to happen. Hell, Allura was probably pregnant with her and Lance’s kid or all he knew and this was a lover’s depart. They were meant to be together, they just had to remain in their respective worlds.

“Goodbye, Lance.” Allura managed to smile through her tears, Lance doing the same for her. She turned and began her walk to board the ship with Romelle, once reaching the top turning back around and shouting, “We love you all! Thank you so much for everything! Goodbye everyone!”

Allura and Romelle waved and everyone below waved back and shouted their farewells through their teary eyes. Allura and Romelle went inside the ship and it started to lift, and before they knew it, it was taking off into the evening sky and out of Earth’s atmosphere for good.

Keith continued to stare at the sky with the rest of the group when Krolia tapped him on the shoulder. “Keith? Can I speak with you about something?”

Keith nodded and followed his mother off to the side of the group. “Is everything okay?”

Krolia but her lip, as if what she was about to say would be difficult. “This couldn’t be worse timing, but I have to tell you now or never.” She took a deep breath. “I have to go back into space.”

Keith’s heart dropped, though he wouldn’t show it on his face. “You’re... Leaving again?” 

Krolia realized how her words could have been interpreted and shook her head. “No, no, no, not for good. I just need to help rally up the last few Galran pirates. There aren’t many left and it’s nothing that the rebellion groups and myself can’t handle, but I will be gone for a few months.”

“Then I’m coming with you.”

“Keith,” Krolia started, “I want you to stay here. Like I said, I’ll be just fine, and I want you to spend some time on Earth, you understand, don’t you?”

Keith let out a long sigh while he nodded. “Yes, I understand, Mom.” 

Krolia softly smiled at Keith, “I love you, Keith.”

“I love you too, Mom,” Keith said, returning her smile.

 

Krolia kissed Keith on his cheek and went to talk to Kolivan. Keith wandered around the party that was long over by now, looking at the mostly empty tables and chairs. He was about to sit at one when he heard someone approaching behind him. 

“Yo, drive me somewhere.”

Keith turned around to see Lance tossing him his hoverbike goggles. He caught them and tried to respond, but Lance cut him off.

“I don’t care where you take me, Mullet-man, but I just wanna get outta here right now.” Lance began to walk away to find wherever Keith’s hovercycle was. As confused as Keith was, he complied, tying his red Garrison coat around his waist, slipping on his goggles, and running after Lance.

 

 

Keith rode his old hoverbike all the way out to the canyon where their journey as Paladins originally began. He stopped the bike and the two hopped off, making their way over to sit on the ledge on the cliff. There was more silence between them, and Keith couldn’t help but feel bad for Lance. He had just witnessed Lance get his heart shattered into a million pieces, and he could tell that it really affected him. He wished he could comfort Lance, he just didn’t know what he was supposed to do or say, fearing he would say that wrong thing.

Lance was the one to finally break the silence, saying with a slight laugh, “Remember when we first met? We saved Shiro together and we made our getaway on that stupid hoverbike of yours.” Lance threw his head back and looked up towards the sky. “I still remember it like it was yesterday when I felt like I was gonna die because you jumped this very ledge right here. Looking back on it now it really was nothing compared to all the other things that were ahead of us.” 

Keith decided to reminisce with Lance, adding on, “And that you got your lion taken and I had to come and save you? You were so dumb.” 

Lance scrunched up his nose. “Shut up! You’re one to talk! I’ve saved your ass more times than I can count with my fast, cat-like reflexes!” Lance holds his hands up like he has makeshift cat paws, making Keith grin. “Lance and Keith, neck-and-neck, man, those really were the days.”

“So, you’re saying that we’re no longer rivals?” Keith said with a cock of his eyebrow. 

Lance playfully pushed Keith and laughed. “In your dreams, Mullet!” They two both laughed for a bit and soon after went back to their comfortable silence. The evening breeze hit their skin, Keith closing his eyes and letting the coolness of it flow through his hair and body. He wished he could take this moment and freeze it in time right now, and live it forever. Maybe if he could stop time he would never lose sight of the way Lance looked in this moment either. Lance was staring off into the evening sky, his eyes lost in a deep space of thoughts running around in his head. He wondered what exactly Lance was thinking about in that beautiful mind of his, and wondered if he would ever find out. 

“Hey.”

Keith was broken from his trance when Lance had said something. He quickly responded so he wouldn’t think he wasn’t paying attention. “Yeah?”

Lance hesitated before he spoke, but finally said, “I’m sorry to hear that your mom is leaving again.”

“Oh.” Keith looked down. Lance must have overheard him and Krolia talking earlier. Though it was a little eavesdropping like, he did think it was sweet of him that he cared. “It’s okay, she’ll be back pretty soon, so I’m just gonna stick it out here alone for a few months.”

“Oh,” Lance said as continued to stare off, his eyes filled with God knows what. He lengthened the silence again, as if he was thinking hard about what he was about to say next. Keith’s pulse picked up quickly as Lance opened his mouth and said as if he didn’t even have to think twice about it the five words that would ultimately change the course of Keith’s life as he knew it.

“Come to Cuba with me.”


	2. June Gloom

“Come to Cuba with me.”

Keith’s brain seemed to short circuit. He went over each word in his head individually, as if to configure what Lance had just said. And as if on cue, Lance began to realize the depth of what he said as well, stiffening and turning away from Keith.

“Lance?”

“Y-you know what,” he stuttered, “just forget it.”

“Lance-“

“I gotta go-“

“Lance!”

He grabs Lance’s wrist, squeezing it tightly as to make sure he didn’t run off as he was so desperately trying to do. He tried to hide his face with his free hand, his eyes pointed toward the ground and his hand over his mouth and part of his nose. After a few moments, he finally felt Lance’s muscles begin to relax, slowly loosening his grip on his wrist as he stopped struggling to run away.

“Lance, I would love to come to Cuba with you.” He could almost barely get the words out of his mouth, words he never in his life thought he would utter. He still couldn’t comprehend why Lance wanted him to go with him, but he thought it was best not to ask him why and just go with him. He could tell Lance was feeling really alone in his heart right now, and for some strange reason, Keith felt the need to fill that emptiness in his heart and occupy himself there. 

Lance’s eyes met Keith’s, looking up slowly at him, his eyebrows unfurrowing. “You really want to come with me?” he said with hint of hope. His eyes reflected the rays of the sun, causing them to look as if they were glimmering in the evening light. The canyon really may have been a wonder to see, but the only wonder Keith was seeing was Lance. All he could do was just nod, too focused on capturing this image of Lance in his mind forever.

Lance laughed, “You idiot! You can’t even get the words out! Cat got your tongue or somethin’?” He was clearly laughing to take away the punch of anxiety he had about asking that question in the first place, Keith assumed. His laugh wasn’t genuine, it almost seemed like he was laughing to hide the shakiness of his body. It’s weird how when you pay attention to someone enough you get to know their exact mannerisms down to the very laugh that they have. Keith noted that he may have been looking at him a little too much throughout the years and kicked himself for it. Lance’s laughter slowed and smiled, genuinely this time. “Sorry, actually, I’d be really happy to have you.”

Keith wasn’t sure why, but he smiled back at Lance. He wasn’t even sure why he was smiling. All he knew was that looking at his smile made him feel something that caused him to break out into a large grin that he couldn’t seem to contain. It came with this weird, bubbly feeling in his stomach. Keith hated it.

“Well,” Lance started, “we should probably get back now, ‘ya think?”

“Y-yeah, uh, yeah.” Keith hops on his cycle and pats the seat for Lance to get on with him. He plops himself down as Keith revs the engine, driving off away from the sunset canyon where his repressed feelings for Lance weren’t as repressed as he thought them to be anymore.

 

By the time to two of them got back to the Garrison, the sun had almost completely set and all of the tables and chairs from the party had been put away. There was one ship, however, that was being loaded by Kolivan, Krolia, and a few Garrison generals. It was likely the ship that Krolia would leave in, but Keith was surprised that she was already loading it, almost as if she was leaving tonight. 

Lance seemed to notice as well, piping up and saying, “Hey, wait a minute. Is your mom leaving now?”

“Yeah, I guess she is.” Keith sighed. “Well, it doesn’t surprise me at all, I mean, I can’t say I’m not used to her surprising me at random times like this.” 

Lance slid off Keith’s cycle and lightly punched his arm. “I’ll let you two say your goodbyes, I don’t want to intrude on that at all. I’ll see you tomorrow, Keith! Oh, and tell Krolia I said bye to her too!” He waved to him and went back into the Garrison building where his family was likely waiting for him. As soon as he left, Keith made his approach to the people loading the small ship. 

“That should be everything... Oh, Keith! There you are.” Krolia’s serious look melted into a small smile when she saw her son. He returned her smile with a grin of his own, dropping quickly before he spoke.

“Mom, are you leaving already?”

Krolia bit her lip. “I’m sorry, Keith. I hate to go so soon but I have to.”

“Well, it would have been a nice heads up when you told me today that you were leaving tonight!” Keith’s eyes darted to the side as he realized he snapped back at her. “I’m sorry, that disrespectful of me.”

Krolia wrapped an arm around him and answered in a soothing voice, “It’s okay, Keith. You have a right to be upset right now. I shouldn’t have sprung this on you like I did, and I apologize for that.” She had a solemn look a guilt on her face, and it made Keith have the urge to give her a hug. And of course, if Keith ever has an urge to do something, he doesn’t even think twice before doing it.

“It’s okay, Mom. Just come back to me, okay? I-I...” Keith trailed off as he hugged her. “I love you,” Keith said after a little bit of stuttering. Krolia pulled back and kissed him on his forehead. She always kissed him on the same spot, ever since the Quatum Abyss when they had finally gotten comfortable with being mother and son, and when Keith finally started calling her ‘Mom’ instead of ‘Krolia’. 

“I love you too, Keith.”

“Everything’s loaded!” a random Garrison officer shouted.

Krolia waved back and shouted back, “Thank you for your help!”

“So, are you leaving now?”

She turned back to Keith and nodded, giving him one final hug and kiss and a quick ‘I love you’. “I hope you won’t be too lonely.”

Keith shrugged his shoulders. “It’s alright, it’s nothing I’m not used to...” he trailed off, reconsidering his words as he didn’t want to make Krolia feel any worse. He tossed the thought around in his mind of whether he should tell her about his going away to Cuba with Lance or not, deciding to go with the former. “Besides, I won’t be alone. I’ll have Lance, I guess.”

Krolia’s eyebrow arched up. “You’ll have Lance? That sounds kind of rom-“

“Mom, all it is is just some trip to Cuba that just happens to be with Lance. He’s feeling really alone right now, just as much as me and I hate seeing him upset like this. Maybe I can help me and- and helping him might help me.” Keith’s face was painted with immediate regret. He wished he hadn’t even told her in the first place. He would beat himself up for that too.

Krolia frowned, sighing lowly. “Well, at least you won’t be alone. Just-“ she paused, almost as if she was thinking about what she was going to say next. “Just be true to yourself Keith, and figure things out.”

“Figure what out? Mom figure what-“ 

“Krolia, my apologies for the interruption, but we must go now,” Kolivan said, cutting Keith off. 

Krolia gave Keith one final hug and kiss, leaving Keith still confused about her words of wisdom. Kolivan shook Keith’s hand, telling him what an honor is was to have met and fought with him. They began to walk off, but before they got on the ship Krolia shouted to him, “I promise Keith, you’ll understand in time. You just need the right person to help you understand.” 

And with that, just like all of the Alteans, they got on their ship and took off into the atmosphere. Keith waited until the ship was complete out of eyesight to turn around and start walking off. His mind was a mix between confusion and fear about and for his mother. Even though he knew that Krolia would be completely safe and she would be back in only a few months, he felt this deep, wrenching feeling of emptiness in the pit of his stomach. It made him feel sick. And what did she mean by all of that? Understand what in time? The right person for what? He decided that all he needed was to be alone right now, which would ultimately make him feel worse, but he jumped back onto his cycle and drove off to his desert shack alone anyway.

His mind continued to cluster his thoughts together, jumbling them all in one incomprehensible feeling. They almost seemed to be screaming at him all at once; one loud, incoherent screech. His ears began to ring and he tried to focus on the wind blowing his hair every which way and the sound his engine made as he revved the engine and bolted even faster through the night. 

His thoughts slowly became less clustered, soon having a chaotic order to them. The ringing was still there, however, and it was giving him a splitting headache. These ear-splitting thoughts were a mix between anxieties and fears that he had and just plain thoughts of confusion. 

Why am I feeling so empty?

Is it because Mom is gonna again?

Maybe it’s because of what she said to me?

You know what, maybe she doesn’t even want me and she wants to find a new parent. Is that what she meant?

Maybe it isn’t and she dies out there.

What if she’s not safe and she really does die?

What if she just decides not to come back?

What if she left because she doesn’t want to see me ever again?

“SHUT UP.” Keith shouted, almost as if he was trying to quiet down his own thoughts. They were all just apart of his crippling anxiety and he wasn’t going to let thoughts he knew weren’t true captivate him. This bike ride sure wasn’t calming him down as much as he thought it would. And even after angrily erasing his previous thoughts from his mind, more started to swirl and around and talk to him.

Isn’t it convenient that Lance just invites me to Cuba with him when he knew Mom was leaving?

He probably is just pitying me.

He doesn’t really care about me like that.

Care about me like what? What does ‘like that’ even mean? What am I thinking of?

What even is happening here?q

Keith was becoming agitated with himself, so much so that he didn’t realize how hard he was gripping and how fast it was making him go. He snapped out of his anger when he realized that he zipped past his shack, abruptly stopping the craft and almost flinging himself off. He turned around and slowly made his way back, stepping off immediately as soon as he parked the thing.

He walked quite a bit away from the shack and began to talk and ask meaningless questions to no one.

“What’s happening to me? Mom leaves for a few months and I get like- like this? What even is ‘this’ in the first place? I mean- I’m sad that she’s gone but why do I feel so depressed over it? And why am  
I depressed about going to Cuba with Lance? I should be-“

Keith put the balls of his hands over his eyes. “I should be... happy. But I’m not. I’m just sad like I always am and here I am in the middle of the desert venting to the sky like some maniac because that’s how alone I truly am.” 

Keith removes his hands from his eyes and takes a deep breath. “Is this what Mom meant? About me trying to figure things out?” He turned his head up and screamed at the sky. “Well I’m not doing any better, Mom!”

He lowered his head back down and clenched his fists. “Why did I even agree to go with him anyway? Things have already been kind of awkward between us, and it hurts me every time I see him so it’s just a lose-lose situation.” He paused, thinking for a moment. “Maybe because if I didn’t go with him I truly would be alone. Everyone would have their families and mine is gone in space again so I thought ‘Wow! Maybe Lance and I will get alone so well and ride off into the sunset holding hands on Varadero Beach’. I answered yes in the moment because I thought it would take the sting off of being alone but now I feel by going I’m just going to feel even more alone because of the confusing feelings I have about Lance aren’t the same confusing things he feels about me!”

Keith bit his lip to choke back a noise he made in the back of his throat. He grimaced and picked up a rock that was nearby him, running even further away from his house and hurling the rock as fast as he could. In the midst of his anger fueled throw his voice raised and he began to scream.

“GODDAMNIT!”

He screamed into the empty desert, dropping to his knees and punching the ground repeatedly. “Damnit... Damnit...” he muttered under his breath. He sat up and rubbed the temple of his nose in annoyance with himself. “Why am I thinking like this in the first place? Why am I getting hopeful? I’m just gonna get hurt again because-“

Cutting himself off, he stood up abruptly and screamed, “FUCK YOU LANCE!” His scream echoed for miles to hear, almost as if the desert was shouting back at him. Screaming may not have been the best choice to release his frustrations, but it did make him feel a lot better, until he was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder.

“Is this a bad time?”

“Wait-“ Keith turned to see his older brother standing behind him with his hand placed on his shoulder. His face reddened with embarrassment and his shoulders tensed. “Shiro? What- what are you doing here?”

“Well, Adam and I thought it might be a good thing to check on how you were doing. Krolia left tonight and we thought we would come over to keep you company.” 

“Oh, I see.” Adam’s here too, great, Keith thought. Now two people got to witness his stupid emotional break down over something he couldn’t even comprehend. He began to feel vulnerable and felt the need to hide. 

Shiro frowned. “Keith,” he started, “is there anything you want to talk about?” Keith simply shook his head and plopped onto the ground. He didn’t look at Shiro and stared at the sand, similar to a pouting child. Shiro got down next to him and sighed. 

“So, you really have been hooked on him since you were thirteen, huh?” Keith’s shoulders tensed again and even in the dim light, Shiro could see that his ears seemed to be slightly red. “I don’t want to pry too much because it is your life, but you don’t have to beat yourself up for being in love, Keith. Love is-“

“I’m not in love with him! Who even said I was in love with him in the first place because I sure as hell didn’t.” 

Shiro took another deep breath. He was used to Keith’s outbursts and his mouthiness. “Let me finish, Keith,” he resumed. “Love is one of the deepest feelings in this world, it has a variety of meanings and it truly has no real definition as love is different for everyone. Love is completely natural and it’s okay to feel it Keith, you can’t keep bringing yourself down for feeling this way.”

“Well, I’m not in love with him,” Keith said, shifting slightly. “But, he invited me to Cuba with him and I don’t know how to deal with it. I said yes because I’m an impulsive idiot but I have this feeling that I’m just going to come back feeling even worse than I feel right now.”

Shiro gave Keith’s shoulder a couple of squeezes. “If you’re looking for my opinion, that sounds like you just don’t want to get your heart broken again, to me.” Keith glared at him, as if to say for the third time that he’s not in love with Lance. He grinned and continued, “Well, whatever the thing it is you’re feeling, you have to tell him at some point. Whatever this feeling or problem you’re having is it obviously involves Lance, right? Maybe if you confess, I mean, talk to him, he might understand.”

“Ha,” Keith rolled his eyes. “Like he would understand, it’s Lance! He’d probably make fun of me like he does with my hair all of the time.”

“Keith, whether you want to believe it or not, Lance really cares about other’s feelings. He would never make fun of someone else’s feelings or emotions just so he can get a quick laugh out of it.” 

Keith grumbled and stood up abruptly. He offered his hand out to Shiro, and while helping him up, he muttered, “Yeah, and that’s the problem.”

Shiro gave him a soft smile of reassurance and glanced the other direction. “We, should probably get inside, it gets kind of cold out here at night and Adam brought dinner for all of us.” He started to walk, expecting Keith to follow him, but stopped in his tracks after he realized Keith remained where he was, still looking off into the sky full of stars as if they would tell him the answer to all of his problems.

“Are you coming?”

Keith nodded without looking at him. “Yeah, just give me a few minutes. Please?”

The weak smile Shiro had tried to keep plastered on his face fell. He was worried about Keith because he knew how he dealt with love. Keith had a difficult time experiencing the love of any form, as he saw when he was originally raising him. It was hard for him to accept the love of an older sibling, the love of a true brother; in fact, Shiro had never even heard him say those three little words to him, or anyone at that matter, before the time he had been possessed and was trying to kill Keith. And of course Shiro never truly saw what went on during the two years that Keith was stuck in the Quantum Abyss, but he assumed that during that time he opened up to love even more, finally experiencing the love of a mother. The love of a parent opens you to every form of love possible, which would make sense as why Keith had finally admitted to loving Shiro during their fight.

Keith has never experience romantic love, so he doesn’t know how to deal with it, Shiro pondered. This would be a romantic awakening for any other person, but for Keith, it’s a feeling that he’s not used to and he’s getting it mixed up with other emotions because of his inexperience with love. 

“Please, Shiro?”

Shiro realized he had never answered Keith, or walked away for that matter, and apologized. “Sorry, and yes, I’ll leave you to yourself for a few minutes. But don’t stay out here too much longer, I don’t want you to catch a cold or anything.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “‘Catch a cold’, I’m not five, Shiro.” He pauses, deeply inhaling the cool, desert air into his lungs. “Please don’t worry about me, Shiro, I’ll be fine, I promise.”

And with that, Shiro responded with a soft ‘okay’ and began his walk to the shack again, leaving Keith to soul search inside of himself. This wasn’t anything new, Keith staring out into star-speckled sky. He did it quite often before he had even become a Paladin. Even when he was just a pre-teen, he would come out on nice nights and just look at the sky with wonder in his eyes. At least that’s what Shiro thought the look was. It was a strange look that was new to Shiro, it was like a mix of wonder and questioning with newfound or   
lost hope, it was a look distinct of Keith and only Keith. He hadn’t seen that look in years, and it left a nostalgic feeling in Shiro’s heart, maybe even a feeling of pure adolescence as well.

And just before he got out of earshot of his younger brother, he heard his soft voice say to the sky itself, “I wonder if you can see the same stars in Cuba.”

 

Little did Keith know that Lance was looking at the sky, thinking about the same thing. 

“Tío Lance! Tío Lance!” His nephew and niece, Sylvio and Nadia, tackle him from behind as he was looking up at the starry night, thinking about their home country and the sparkling sands of Varadero Beach.

“What are you two rascals still doing up? You two should be getting to bed soon!” He ruffles up both of their heads full of hair and they giggle with delight.

Their giggles fade quickly when they realize what Lance had said. “Aww, Tío! We don’t want to go too bed yet!” they whine.

“Yeah! We want to know about that guy!” Nadia says through a pouty lip.

“Guy?” Lance cocks his head. “What guy?”

“That guy with the HUGE flying motorcycle thing!” Sylvio extends his arms out real big to show how large is was. “He had cool black hair and a jacket tied around his waste! It looked like yours but it was red!”

Nadia nodded in agreement. “Yeah! Yeah! And I heard you talking to Mima saying that you were inviting him back to Cuba with us!” 

Lance rubbed the back of his head and began to stutter. “I, uh, well you see, the thing is that-“

“You’re right mi sobrinos.” 

Veronica smirked and sat down next to all of them. “Tía Veronica!” The siblings tackle Veronica, as they had with Lance, and she laughs. 

“Well, since it seems like your Tío over here is having trouble getting the words out, I’ll tell you who this mystery man is.” Lance shoots his sister a look, as if telling her to watch herself.

“Tell us, tell us!” The siblings shout. They sit in front of Veronica, waiting for her to begin her story about who this mystery man is.

“Well,” Veronica begins, “to start of, this man’s name is Keith, and Tío Lance has known Keith since his first days at the Garrison.” 

“Woah, really? So are they like, best friends?” Nadia asks.

“Not exactly, no. They were actually rivals back then.” 

Sylvio turns to Lance quickly, his eyes widening. “Wow! You were rivals with him, Tío? That’s so cool! I bet you beat him at everything because you’re the best!” he explains, pumping his fists in the air.

Veronica laughed. “Actually, your Tío was always the one trying to out-best Keith! Keith seemed to always beat him at everything!”

Sylvio and Nadia both got a kick out of that. Lance side-eyed Veronica and looked rather annoyed, hoping she would wrap this up soon.

Veronica didn’t take the hint, however, deciding to push his buttons even further, looking directly at him as she said, “But, even so, their rivalry between them always seemed rather off to me. Keith didn’t seem to care about the rivalry, almost as if it was one-sided and crafted by Lance just to deny a different emotion that he was feeling. Maybe a feeling similar to the ones he felt for Allur-“

“Okay! That’s enough of that!” Lance cut her off.

Sylvio and Nadia frowned. “Aww! Tell us more about Keith!” Sylvio sad with puppy-dog eyes.

Nadia nodded in agreement and imitated her brother’s eyes. “Yeah! Pretty please?”

“No, your Tío is probably right. You two need to get some sleep you little monsters!” Veronica smiled and tickled their bellies, making them bust out in laughter. 

“Lance, I’m going to go put these two in bed, okay?”

“Sure,” Lance responded in an annoyed manner.

Veronica frowned. She knew she shouldn’t have pushed Lance like that, but she wasn’t going to get into it with him in front of the kids. Instead she playfully said, “Aww, don’t be like that. Say goodnight to Tío Lance kids!”

Sylvio and Nadia gave him a big bear hug and kissed him on either cheek. It did make Lance smile, but he was still upset with Veronica. “Goodnight Tío Lance!” And with that they ran off with Veronica to tuck them into bed.

Lance audibly sighed and continued to look at the stars, now annoyed rather than content. Why did she have to bring that up? Lance thought. I was just a kid back then, I didn’t know what I was thinking. And doesn’t she understand how I’m feeling right now?

“Hey.” Veronica had finished tucking the kids in, and she now was standing in the doorway of the balcony looking quite apologetically at Lance.

Lance turned away from her. “Hey.”

“Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed your buttons like that, that was kind of mean of me to do. Especially because of...”

Lance just nodded. “You don’t have to say it. It’s whatever. I’ve gotten my heart broken before, it’s nothing new.”

“But this time is different. Lance I can tell you’re truly hurting this time and I shouldn’t have joked on you like that.” Veronica looked concerned for him, and he hated that. He hated it when people worried about him, it made him feel like even more a of burden than he already felt like he was.

“Veronica, I said it’s fine.” 

She could tell that Lance was at his breaking point, so she decided not to push him any further. Instead she leaned in and gave him a big hug. Lance didn’t reciprocate the hug completely, as he only lifted one arm to do so, but he was glad to feel his sister’s arms around him. She ruffled his hair like he had done with his niece and nephew and smiled at him softly. “You know I love you little bro.” Though Veronica had said it in the form of a question, it was the exact opposite of that. Rather it was a statement, almost as if to say that there is no denying her love for Lance, and he should know that and never question it.

Lance nodded and smiled back her. “Yeah, I know sis.”

She patted his back and stood back up, making her way back through the balcony door. “You gonna stay out here?”

“Yeah, for just a little bit. It’s a really pretty night out.” 

Veronica nodded. “Okay, well, I think I might get some shut eye, we have to pack tomorrow,” she started. She wanted to end their conversation on a lighter note, playfully adding, “And don’t stay up too much longer, because I swear if I hear one complaint outta you saying that you’re tired tomorrow I’ll kick your shins!”

Lance laughed, retorting with, “Well I better get my shin-guards ready because I’m always tired whether I get sleep or not!”

Veronica rolled her eyes, saying a quick ‘Goodnight’ to Lance as she shut the balcony door.

Once she was gone, he stood up and went to the railing of the balcony, placing his arms on it and leaning his head on top of them. He scanned each star in the endless abyss that the sky truly was. The feeling that a star-filled sky gave him was something different than how it made him feel before he went to space. It still made him content, but he was now left with a melancholy feeling in the pit of his stomach, as if to mourn the lives lost in the war and his yearning for Allura. He had experienced heartbreak before, a lot of girls had rejected him and it was nothing he wasn’t used to. But Allura was something different, his heart ached for her and it made him depressed to even think about her. He really was deeply in love with her.

“No... Get your mind off of her McClain. You don’t need to be thinking about her right now...” He shook his head, trying to focus on other things, such as having to pack tomorrow. He really couldn’t wait to go back to Cuba again, to be with his family, to finally have a real break. And he wouldn’t only be with his family, Keith would be there to keep him company as well. Yeah, Keith would be there to keep him company as well.

As Lance thought about it more, he really couldn’t understand why he had said what he said. Why did I even invite him in the first place? What’s even more strange is the fact that he was so quick to say yes. Why? 

Lance decided it wasn’t worth thinking about right now. The inner thoughts of Keith’s mind were truly an enigma to Lance, and he was fine with accepting that he may never get an answer as to why Keith so readily agreed. Or maybe one day it will make perfect sense, and this happened for a reason. Like fate, in a way. 

Lance pushed the thought aside and rolled his eyes. “Fate, yeah right.” He went back to studying the stars, naming constellations in his head. He traced every one he saw with his index finger pointed to the sky, but when he got to Scorpius he stopped mid-trace. Keith popped into his mind again. Even when he was doing something not related to Keith in the slightest, he still thought about him. Even when he wasn’t around, he would think about him. Keith and Scorpius, huh? Lance thought to himself. He smiled in the direction of Scorpius, gazing far with eyes full of pure serenity.

“I wonder if Keith is looking at these same stars right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you for sticking around for Chapter 2, I really appreciate it.
> 
> So this story should have around 15 chapters, I would say, based on how much story I have in my head. I should update every Friday and/or Saturday, and maybe even some Wednesdays is I want to get this done before Season 8 premieres. I hope you guys will stick around for the entire story! <3
> 
> Also follow me on Twitter for updates!  
> Twitter: @/sailortaymoon

**Author's Note:**

> And that’s the first chapter!
> 
> I’m hoping to update every 5-7 days so the next chapter should be out Thursday-Saturday, hope you’ll stay tuned! <3


End file.
